In the transport of such pieces of sheet or web material, especially pieces cut from a continuous web of material and, in particular textile pieces cut from a web of a textile, it is known to provide a first discontinuously operable transport device by means of which a textile web is withdrawn from a supply, e.g. a roll, and that the free end of this web, pieces are cut off. The pieces can be then transferred to a second continuously operable transporter whose transport plane runs parallel to the transport plane of the first transporter.
The free end of the web can be engaged to pull the web out before it is cut off in the first plane and the web can be displaced in the second plane transversely to its displacement in the first plane, i.e. orthogonal to the first direction of displacement. The means for engaging the free end of the web may be tongs and the tongs can tension the web for cutting. The first transporter can also include a slider shiftable in the first direction. Between the transport slider and the transport tongs of the first transporter, the separating device can be provided for cutting the piece off the web.
The transfer means can engage the cut off piece and displace the latter between the plane of the first transporter and the plane of the second transporter.
In the prior art apparatus which operates in the manner described, especially for textile material, as soon as one textile piece is displaced away from the area in which it is severed from the textile web another piece can be separated from the web and similarly transported away.
One of the drawbacks of such an arrangement is that during the time interval in which a piece of material is being transported away from the location at which it is separated from the web, a further piece of material cannot be cut from the web and hence the cutting can only occur after the previously cut piece has been completely carried off from this region.
With such an arrangement, especially with a continuously driven second transporter, the successive textile pieces cannot be delivered so that they are practically touching one another, i.e. with a quasi gap-free succession as may be required for seaming and sewing stations. Rather there always remains between the individual textile pieces along the second path, a comparatively large gap which limits the utilization of the apparatus in terms of the number of delivered pieces per unit time and can have a negative effect on equipment downstream of the transporters, i.e. apparatus for processing the pieces.
Apparatus is also known which is capable of transporting pieces first in one direction and then in a direction orthogonal thereto and in which the two planes in which the pieces are moved by the respective transporters are located one above the other. In these systems, the textile pieces may be engaged on needle bars which deliver the textile pieces to needle chains. The material is repeatedly engaged or pierced by the needle which can be detrimental to the fabric and operations in the vicinity of such needle bars and needle chains may be dangerous. In many cases neither needle bars nor needle chains can be used.
With such apparatus as well, it is not possible to ensure the continuous delivery of pieces of material in a quasi-gap-free or spacing-free manner.